


Colour-Coding

by sanctum_c



Series: Aerti Week 2019 [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chocobo Races, Chocobos, F/F, Gold Saucer (Compilation of FFVII), Video Game Mechanics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23759101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c/pseuds/sanctum_c
Summary: Tifa is a professional Chocobo racer at the Gold Saucer. A new rider arrives with a chocobo colour none have seen before.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart
Series: Aerti Week 2019 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981054
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	Colour-Coding

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt 'crossovers and AUs'

Yellow was the most prevalent colour of chocobo in the Gold Saucer races. Easily obtained and easier still to train. A Yellow would offer the rider a good shot at victory. The blues and greens were theoretically faster, but wilder, harder to handle. Mostly only usable by the more talented and experienced racers of which Tifa was one. There were moments when Tifa could not help but marvel at the direction her life had taken; from finding a tiny abandoned chick on Mount Nibel, rearing it and forming an unbreakable bond with her companion.

The Gold Saucer was one of those things outside of Nibelheim; oft mentioned but never a hope of visiting the place. No one in Nibelheim could afford a ticket. Turned out there was another way into the complex. As a chocobo rider, Tifa got room and board, opportunity to rush around the theme park and enjoy life. So long as she did not think too hard about the prison at the base, or what remained of the town where the tram started.

Black chocobos were rare. So rare only one such rider existed at the Gold Saucer – or anywhere in the world. Teioh seemed the only one capable of handling his mount; he had let Tifa, let all the other riders try their hand. None lasted more than a minute, soon bucked from the bird’s back, hastily scrambling away from the talons. Teioh’s chocobo did not care for any beyond its master. Good for winning, but unpredictable and prone to lethargy. Teioh rationed his races, seeking the best occasions to show his prominence.

And now something had him scared. Rumours had swirled for weeks now there was an up and coming rider in the racing leagues. She rode a Yellow chocobo, but something was different about it. No one seemed to want to get hung up on her mount. The rider in question (A- something) heralded from Midgar of all places. “And she keeps on winning.” Teioh was solemn.

“A Midgar chocobo racer?” Tifa frowned. “Nearest place she can possibly house her bird is that place near the Mythril mine. Right?”

“Right.”

Tifa shrugged. “She can’t possibly be that good.” Never paid to be too dismissive; no one had wanted to let her try out for the races. Some nobody from a backwater town with a hand-reared chocobo. No training, no sponsors, no attachment to the right kinds of people who owned and bred chocobos. And yet, she succeeded time and again. But Midgar was not famed for its flora or fauna. All one found in Midgar was various breeds of monsters – something applicable to much of the terrain surrounding the capital. chocobos there, but far afield. This rider... Perhaps she got lucky. Perhaps she had connections in the racing world and was advancing because of them. Perhaps she was a ringer.

Shinra was paying more attention to the complex of late. There was some talk of taking a larger cut of the winnings for hosting events. A threatened walk-out silenced such notions for a time, but Shinra had a reputation. "Teioh?"

“We’ll see.” Teioh still uncomfortable. Did he know something more?

Three weeks later and the rider arrived. Tifa got to the stables late and found all the other riders – Teioh included – peering into the last, unoccupied stall. Curiosity got the better of her. A woman – about her age – leant against the partition, smiling as she answered questions from the assembled racers. Her eyes were dazzling green, her hair a deep brown, her lips a delicate shade of pink.

A blink. Wait. Focusing on the rider. She was gorgeous, but what had gotten all the attention? An unfamiliar chocobo shuffled in the straw, peering unconcerned at the massed crowd. It wasn’t a Yellow. Perhaps settled on as the best way to describe it – Tifa could scarcely believe what was in front of her anyway – but it was wrong in every important way. Not Yellow, but Gold. A Gold chocobo. If Teioh’s Black was rare, this one was beyond rare.

No one had ever breathed about a Gold. And this beautiful rider from Midgar showed up with one in tow.

Tifa shifted through the crowd, no one willing to move, no one willing to look away from the rarest of chocobos. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Teioh was first to move, stumbling out of the stables. Must be a blow to possess what once was the rarest chocobo in the world – and for this stranger to show up with another bird never heard of before.

A careful sidle, and Tifa reached the front, right beside the woman. “Hi,” she mouthed.

The woman grinned and mouthed “Hi” back.

Tifa held out her hand. “Tifa Lockhart.”

The woman’s smiled widened. “Aeris Gainsborough.” She glanced to her side. “You’re the first to resist Chocolina’s appearance.”

Tifa’s cheeks warmed; she must have been staring at Aeris. “Oh, no. I mean, sort of. I-“ She swallowed. “She’s very beautiful, but I thought I should introduce myself and no one was paying you any attention and-“ Good going, Lockhart.

“I half-hoped you’d say you’d seen one before.” Aeris sighed. “Get so much attention because of her. It’s a good thing I love her.”

“Sorry.” Tifa shook her head. “Um. Has anyone shown you around?”

“No. As soon as I lead her in-“ Aeris gestured at the crowd.

“I can? Show you around I mean. If you want?”

“Thank you.” Aeris grinned again and Tifa’s knees felt weak. “I think I’d like that.”


End file.
